It's really gut-check time for Notre Dame

Now Irish will see if they have stomach for long run in NCAA tournament

March 10, 2012|By Brian Hamilton, Chicago Tribune reporter

NEW YORK — Scott Martin emerged from the locker room into a Madison Square Garden hallway late Friday night bearing a box for his postgame snack and a sour expression. The Notre Dame senior deemed the container's contents as "nothing healthy," but that had little to do with the roiling in his gut.

"It's never fun to lose, and we need to carry the feeling we have right now in the pit of our stomach into next week," Martin said after the Irish imploded in a 64-50 Big East tournament semifinal setback to Louisville. "And use it to motivate us a little bit, and hopefully make a run."

The Irish's NCAA tournament map will be laid out Sunday. And their frustration with the results in the league tournament will merge with the near-decade long aggravation at repeated minor cameos in the Big Dance.

Notre Dame hasn't reached a Sweet 16 since 2003. There is no consensus about the Irish's seeding for this NCAA tournament and therefore their odds of ending that drought. But if his team wants to go mad next week, Irish coach Mike Brey won't stand in the way.

"It's kind of a fresh start," Brey said. "I talked to them about, given that we leave (New York) with a bad taste in our mouth, can we be really hungrier and a little edgier as we move into the NCAA tournament?

"I'm really proud of what they've done up to this point. They've had a heck of a run, and I love the fact that they're stinging. I hope that helps us in our preparation moving into the next one."

The effort against Louisville was a near total loss, but it was instructive. First, the Irish received 11 points and 11 rebounds from second-team All-Big East center Jack Cooley after a near-invisible quarterfinal effort against South Florida.

If Cooley had seemed to spiral, the Irish might as well have planned for a one-game stay wherever they land.

"We need his presence," Brey said. "Him playing well, even (in) a loss, him in a rhythm helps. I feel good about that (going into) Thursday or Friday."

Now locating that rhythm for everyone else is a must. In its last four games away from home, Notre Dame shot a collective 36.7 percent and averaged a woeful 48.5 points in regulation.

"We had some open looks (Friday), and we're going to have to knock them down (now)," Irish guard Eric Atkins said.

Notre Dame hasn't had much margin for error all season. It vanishes completely Sunday.

"This nucleus really hasn't played a lot in the tournament," Martin said. "It'll be exciting to see how we react."